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This
distinguished small Renaissance church,
whose façade relates interestingly
to that of the Gesuati, its larger baroque
sister, on the quay overlooking the Giudecca
canal, was reopened in 1995 after repairs
lasting three years.
Built between 1494 and 1524 by the Gesuati
(a Sienese fraternity founded in 1355 to
care for the infirm) to replace their oratory
of San Girolamo, the church was dedicated
to the Visitation of the Virgin to her cousin,
St Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist.
It consists of a single nave with a flat
wooden ceiling; the high altar is sited
under a cupola, beyond which is the cross-vaulted
choir. The architects were principally Lombards:
Francesco from Mandello on Lake Como for
the nave, and Francesco Lurano from Cremona
(perhaps with Mauro Codussi or Tullio Lombardo
participating) for the façade. After
the Gesuati were suppressed in 1668, their
successors, the Dominicans, built a larger
church adjoining it and the Visitazione
became a public library, in which capacity
it continued until 1810. It reopened as
a church in 1825.
The fabric of the building was repaired
by the Magistrato alle Acque between 1992
and 1994. Venice in Peril funded the conservation
of the ceiling with its 58 roundel paintings
(by Pier Paolo Agabiti) of patriarchs, prophets,
apostles and martyrs while the Australian
Committee for Venice financed the work on
the main altarpiece, which is one of three
paintings lent by the Accademia. The British
and Australian Committees then joined forces
to complete further work, including the
frescoes of the Evangelists in the cupola.
DIRECTION OF WORKS: Superintendency for
the Environmental and Architectural Heritage
and the Superintendency for the Artistic
and Historical Heritage
CONSERVATORS: Paintings and frescoes: Serafino
and Marco Volpin |
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